Lith sighed and focused Abyssal Grasp on the golden leaf. It was splendid, majestic, and also just a lump of energy like the rest of the Sapling's life force.
'I must follow Valtak's teachings and use the Dread Flas as feelers. If the World Tree is right, I should find so difference between knowledge and emotions. Lith shifted his focus from the breathing technique to the Dread Flas, using Solus' Sage Staff to enhance his ntal acuity.
The silvery flas enveloped the golden leaf and once Lith was certain they caused no harm, he sent them deeper. Most of the golden energy was just that, energy. By traversing it with the Dread Flas, Lith glimpsed upon spells, their inventors, and their insane agendas and thods.
Witnessing the horrors that perfecting a single Forbidden Spell required was
unsettling even for him so Lith didn't dwell on it. He kept searching until he spotted black swirling current moving below the leaf's surface.
The Dread Flas chased it for a while, spreading through the rest of the golden leaf until the black current had nowhere to run. The mont the silver fire touched the blackness, Lith felt a great agony, a burning ambition, and a creeping madness.
Everything the World Tree had felt and thought during their final monts was there, compressed and distilled into its rawest and purest form. It was small but it had the power of an obsession.
'If I let it grow or touch , even I wouldn't be safe from it.' Lith launched the Dread Flas against the blackness burning it upon contact.
The blackness fought back, dodged, and tried to escape. Yet every bit burned was lost forever and there was just a drop of the Tree's consciousness. Without the black current, the golden leaf stopped trying to produce new roots and let itself be plucked out effortlessly.
Lith enveloped the golden leaf in a sphere of silvery flas and brought it outside.
The fragnt of the World Tree's knowledge was as big as a needle but as resplendent as a star. It spun on itself for a while until it pointed in the direction of the nearest fragnt.
"Hello, friend." The World Sapling sounded serene but also confused. "Who are you and what are you doing on my doorstep? Is he a friend of yours, Dir?"
"You don't know?" The Sovereign was flabbergasted. "Esor, what's the last thing you rember?"
"I rember our ga of chess. The one you won, for a change. Then you received more spicy pictures for your collect-"
"That was two weeks ago!" The Sovereign cut the Sapling short.
"Two weeks ago? That doesn't sound right." Esor spread their consciousness to the rest of the city, discovering there was a hole of fourteen days in their mory. "Okay, I'm lost. Can soone please tell what in Mogar's na happened to ?"
A quick mind link from the Redcap brought the Sapling up to speed.
"It seems you succeeded, Verhen. You took the fragnt away from . All of it. The good news is I don't rember anything of whatever secret of yours I knew. The even better news is that I don't have to be a World Tree.
"Take that shit away from , please."
"You don't want to be a World Tree?" Lith echoed in surprise.
"Oh, yeah. A lifeti of isolation with the whole Mogar hunting for my wood and wishing to steal knowledge even I am too scared of using. How can I say no to such an alluring offer?" The Sapling replied.
"When you put it that way, it sounds sad." Aalejah said.
"It doesn't sound sad. It is sad." Esor replied. "Why do you think so many Trees go nuts? As a sign of my gratitude, you are my honored guests now and forever. As long as you don't bring that thing back to , Verhen.
"Once you complete the essence of the World Tree, if you will bother doing it, keep it away from . Okay?"
"Okay" Lith chuckled. "You are a funny guy"
"Don't be so surprised. Many beasts find charming. After all, we are distantly related. I'm part wolf, you know?
"Is that even possible?" Feela looked at the Sapling and then at the Sovereign who shrugged in confusion.
"Of course. Can't you tell from the bark?" The World Sapling laughed. "Gods, I've waited centuries for this joke and you guys walked into it.""
Lith laughed as well, more from surprise than for the joke itself.
"We'd better go now." He said. "I don't know how many of these I need to find yet."
"Do you need my help, little brother?" Xenagrosh asked.
"I need all of you." Lith pointed at Aalejah, Lotho, and Feela. "I don't know how the other Saplings will react and I might need reinforcents. Feel free to send Tezka away but keep him on standby."
"Why are you sending him away?" Solus asked.
"This could have been a trap because the Sapling called here. Now I'm going to take them by surprise. There can't be a trap and I hold the initiative." Lith replied. "On
think I'm the bad guy.
"If we are lucky, we'll solve this without conflict. Esor proved that having to deal with a fragnt of the World Tree isn't easy. Others might want to get rid of it just like them and they just don't know how."
"Right." Lotho nodded. "Esor knew because that was part of the knowledge they inherited. No two Saplings should have access to the sa information."
"Exactly" Feela couldn't avert her gaze from the luminous spark in Lith's hand. "It ans we won't have to face soone wielding perfected Forbidden Magic again." "Or who knows *our* secrets. Lith put emphasis on the word, a delicate threat that would stop the Council representatives from spreading annoying rumors. "We got lucky. This is one of the most dangerous fragnts if not the most dangerous."
Lith tried and failed to store the fragnt in the pocket dinsion so he closed his fist around it tp avoid drawing attention.
"Thanks for your help, Verhen." Dir extended his hand and the Tiamat shook it. "I'll
keep my lips sealed if you keep yours."
"About w-" A solid nudge in the ribs stopped Solus in her tracks.
"You have a deal, Sovereign." Lith said.
"Sorry, Dir. I didn't an to embarrass you." Esor said. "I was still all shaken up. You
know that I'm usually as silent as a tree, right?"
"Is Eseor always like that?" Lotho was flabbergasted at the Sapling's antics.
"No, usually they are much worse. Esor is just warming up." The Sovereign sighed. "Let accompany you outside."
On their way back, the whole city had gone back to normal. Plant folk and Fae had lost any trace of hostility and sent flirty looks to every mber of the group.
"Thank you for your help, brothers and sisters." Feela addressed the Emperor Beasts sieging Esor. "The crisis is resolved and there shouldn't be a need for your help anymore. You are free to go but please, keep your amulets at hand."
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